Mechanism for adding tape to tea bag



June 7, 1960 H. L. BARTELT 2,939,257

MECHANISM FOR ADDING TAPE TO TEA BAG Filed March 26, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 mcurold LL Bartel? 7% /-'%nu 4m./

June 7, 1960 H. 1.. BARTELT 2,939,257

MECHANISM FOR ADDING TAPE TO TEA BAG Filed March 26, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 [Illllflllll lllfllll Hill 0 5 10 s 8 O o o o o o 8 0Q):- O 0 t I m O 0 N I Q1. 0 8 Q 8\ o O '1 k) V O A O 8 n O I n O Q t o o 0) 1 I 10 a F N a; 0 Q I!) I C l o P F 0 I}:

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i 1 G0 C I f r c Q Ill U O S 2 n June 7, 1960 H. BARTELT 2,939,257

MECHANISM FOR ADDING TAPE TO TEA BAG Filed March 26, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q-(a rcfld L. iacurtelt June 7, 1960 H. L. BARTELT MECHANISM FOR ADDING TAPE T0 TEA BAG 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 26, 1958 June 7, 1960 H. L. BARTELT 2,939,257

MECHANISM FOR ADDING TAPE TO TEA BAG Filed March 26, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 7, 1960 H. L. BARTELT 2,93 57 MECHANISM F OR ADDING TAPE TO @EA BAG Filed March 26, 1958 V 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Qlcnrold L. bait elk 4 w, gw ALMWJ CHTTQRMSYM MECHANISM non ADDING TAPE To TEA BAG Filed Mar. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 724,121 4 Claims. 01. 53-134 The present invention relates to packaging machines, and more particularly to machines for attaching handles to bags or like packages. For example, it is desirable to attach as a handle a length of tape to beverage infusers, such as tea bags, so that the bag may be steeped in hot water and then easily removed from the beverage thus prepared. The tea bags are conveniently formed, filled, and sealed by a machine such as the machine shown and described in US. Patent No. 2,649,674. A handle of tape is then applied to the upper edge of the sealed bag and the bags are packaged in a suitable container. The tape is desirably supplied in the form of a roll from which individual lengths are cut.

It is the principal object. of the present invention to provide a new and improved mechanism for cutting a tape to a desired length and simultaneously applying one end of the tape to a bag as a handle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the above character which automatically retrieves the cut end of the tape supply and holds the same in position for the subsequent steps involved in applying a handle length of tape to a bag.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism of the above type which supports the length of tape during the cutting and attaching operation in order to prevent the tape from becoming tangled in the packaging machine and conveying mechanism.

A further object of the present invention is to pr vide a mechanism of the foregoing character which operates continuously and automatically in timed relation to the mvement of filled bags in the machine, which is simple and of economical construction and operation, which occupies a minimum of space, and which utilizes existing power drives of the packaging machinery with which it is used.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a packaging machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section view through a bag having an attached handle;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the tape afiixing end of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken substan tially in the plane of line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially in the plane of line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary views similar to Fig. 5, but showing the mechanism in successive positions;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the tape adding end of the machine; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary View of a portion of the tape adding mechanism.

While a certain illustrative tape handle affixing mechanism has been shown in the drawings and will be described below in considerable detail, it should be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, equivalents and uses falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

The present invention is particularly useful for attaching a length of tape 20 as a handle to a flexible walled bag 21 after the latter has been filled with a measured amount of material 22 and sealed. The tape shown is in the form of a narrow strip of material of the same type as that forming the bag. When the bag 21 is intended as an infuser, and contains tea, for example, the bag and handle material is a high wet strength paper.

Attachment of the tape handle 20 to the bag 21 preferably is elfected during a dwell of the bag at a station D after the bag has been formed at a station A, filled with a measured amount of material 22 by a filling mechanism including a spout 23 at a station B, and sealed at a station C. From the sealing station C the bag is advanced step by step along a path extending through the handle attaching station D from which it is discharged into a suitable bulk container.

To advance a series of bags 22 successively through the filling, sealing and handle attaching stations B, C and D, the leading side seals of the bags are engaged by pairs of grippers or clips 25, spaced along and carried by a conveyor 26 which is advanced intermittently along a path extending through the stations. The conveyor 26, the grippers 25, the filling mechanism, and the sealing mechanism are all drivingly connected to a constantly rotating cam shaft 27 for actuation in timed relation in the manner shown and described in the above-mentioned Patent No. 2,649,874 to which reference may be made for further details.

Generally, the method of attaching tape handle 20 to a bag 21 comprises supporting the bag with the end to which the handle is to be attached directed upwardly at the handle attaching station D, feeding handle tape 23 from a supply roll 28a around guide rolls 29 and over a tape support, sunch as a retriever drum 30, attaching the free end of the handle .tape to the bag and simultaneously severing the handle 20 from the supply tape 28, and finally releasing the handle from the retriever drum 30 and allowing thebag and attached handle to drop out of the machine.

The retriever drum 30 is rotatably mounted on the machine frame 31 and is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed jaws or grippers 32, 33, which clamp the tape to the drum (Fig. 3). One jaw, for example the jaw 33 in Fig. 6, grips the free end of the tape supply 28 at a first station and, as the drum is turned through a half revolution, this free end is brought to a second station alongside the upper end of a bag 21 (see Fig. 7). The drum 31 dwells in this position and the other jaw 32 is closed. While the drum continues to dwell, the sealing irons 36 and 37 heat seal the free end of the tape to the bag and the knives 38 and 39 cut the tape in front of the jaw 32. Next, the jaw 33 is opened releasing the bag With its tape handle attached. The cycle is repeated, thenext time the jaw 32 being the one which pulls the tape end alongside a successive bag.

The tape is desirably sealed to the bag by heat and pressure, although other means can be efiectively employed. To this endthere is provided a pair of sealing heads 36, 37 on opposite sides of the path of the bags at the handle attaching station D. When a bag and handle are positioned between these heads they are moved together and apply heat and pressure sufficient to secure the handle to the bag.

' or otherwise being damaged so as to AA A At the same time the handle is being fastened to the bag it is cut to the desired length. This is accomplished by a pair of knives 38, 39, spaced from the attaching mechanism and arranged on opposite sides of the supply tape. By'moving these knives together with ascissors like action the tape is clearly and evenly severedi j For purposes of providing heat'and pressure on both sides of the bag for attaching the free end of the handle tape to the bag, as well as to permit a scissors-like cutting action of the knives, the retriever drum 30 is formed as a hollow cylinder. (Fig. 9) havinga pair of diametrical- 1y opposed axially extending slots 41, 42. One pressure head 37 and one knife blade 39 are positioned inside of the retriever drum cylinder 30, while the other head'36 and knife 38 are on the outside thereof. The pressure heads and knives are thereby positioned on opposite sides of the tape on the drum and act through the respective slots in the drum. The jaws 32, 33engage the tape just behind the trailing edge of these slots in the retriever drum. For fastening the tape to the bag, the former overlaps the upper edge seal of the latter. i e

The jaws 32, 33 grip the paper tapeisuflicien'tly far back of the cut edge and the slots 41, 42 are sufliciently wide to provide a free end on the tapewhich overlaps the upper edge of the bag as shown in Fig. 9. In order to guide the bag beneath the free endofithe tape and between the tape 20 and the retriever drum 30, a projecting cam 45 is provided on each of the jaws 32, 33. This cam has an outwardly sloping inner edge 46 which engages the upper edge of the bag and forces it inwardly toward the cylinder 30, allowing the tape 20 to project over the outside surface of the bag. Further, this prevents tape from engaging the end of the bag and crumpling prevent a good seal between the tape 20 and the bag 21.,

The drum 30 is rotated in correlation with the move} ment of the bags 21 on the conveyor 26 by means of a driving connection to the continuously rotating cam shaft 27 of the packaging machine. To this end thedrum 30 is fixed on a shaft 48, .journaled in suitable bearings in a bearing housing 49 mounted on the frame 31, and

having a sprocket 50 on one end thereof engaged by a driving chain 51 from the intermittent gear box 52, which drives the conveyor 26 (Fig. 3). The gear box 52 is in turn driven in time relation with the constantly rotating cam shaft 27; Included on the cam shaft 27 is a cam 55 and lever mechanism 56 for releasing the bags 21 from theconveyor clips 25 at the same time the handle '20 is releasedfrom the retriever drum 30 by opening the jaw 32.

Means are provided for opening and closing the jaws 32, 33 in timed relation to the other mechanismsand, herein, this means includes a cam 59 which operates in timed relation to the other mechanisms; The jaws are pivotally mounted on brackets'58, extending radially outwardly from the rear surface of the drum so that theycan swing toward'or away from the tape-carrying surface of thedrum and are swung open and closed by the cam 59 which is mounted to rock on the shaft 48.

Drivingly connecting the jaws 32, 33 to the 9 are cam followers 60, 6 1, swingablymounted on the'rear surface of the retriever drum (Fig. The lfollowers 60, 61, operating in themanner of bell lcr anks, are provided on one end with rollers 62, 63, e gag ngthe cam faces and coupled to thejaws 32, 33 by links 64 pivoted between them. The rollers 63 ofthe respective followersu, 61 are held against the face, of the rocking cam 59 by means of suitable springs 65,

Thepurpose Ofthe m k p ica 5 and thereby permit the finished bag to be discharged from'themachine before the retriever rotated,

st, to close the jaw 33 for gripping the supply tape 28 to the 30. before the handle 20 ishsevered therefrom," and; second, to open the jaw 32 holding a handle attached to abag mpsaaav linkage mechanism operatively connected to the constant rotating camshaft 27. -This mechanism comprises a cam 68 on the camshaft of the machine engaging a cam follower 69' on an arm 70 coupled to the rocking cam 59 by means of a link 71 pivoted to an arm 72 extending from the rocking cam 59; As the cam shaft rotates,

the cam 68 drives the arm" 70 and link 71 up and down, thereby to rock the cam arm 72 and the cam 59.

Means are provided for. operating the heat and pressure heads 36, 37 and scissorknives 38, 39 in timed relation to the rotation of the drum 30 and the movement of the bags 21 with the conveyor 26. One illustrative means is shown in the drawings and comprises suitable linkages operatively connected to the main bag sealing heads 75, 76 of the machine'at station C, as shown inFigs. 3 and 4. The bag sealing heads 75, 76 are mounted on the upper ends of arms 77, 78, pivotally mounted at 79, 80 on the frame and urged apart by springs 81. At' the opposite ends from the heads 75, 76, the arms 77, 78 are provided with cam followers 84 riding on a cam 85, carried on a the cam shaft 27 of the machine.

, For operating the handle attaching heads 36, 37 simultaneously with the mm'n sealing heads 75, 76, the former are mounted on support arms 87, 88 extending from respective ones of the sealing heads 75, 76. Inorder to achieve a scissors-like action of the knives 38, 39, they isopened. This position is shown in Fig. 5, just prior to release of the bag from "the conveyor clip 25 by the cam 55 and arm 56. Upon this release, the'bag 21 and attached handle 20 will drop from the machine. At this point the rockingcam 59is at its farthest point of clockwise rotation (as viewed 'in'Fig. 5), with the arm in its lowermost position, thereby holding jaw 32 open and jaw 33 closed and gripping the cut end of the supply tape 28 to the'retriever drum30. I e 1 p Upon the releasing of the bag from the clip 25, the

5. retriever drum 30 rotates, carrying the supply tape held thereto by jaw 33 '(Fig. 6). During rotation of the drum 30 the rocking cam 59 swings counterclockwise' and maintains jaw 32 open. These movements continue until the cut end of the supply tape 28 is positioned over the upper edge of a filled bag 21, and the slots 42, 41in the drum wall are positioned between the pressure heads and'knives 38, 39, respectively (Fig. 7). At this point the rocking cam 59 begins its clockwise motion allowing the. cam follower roller 62 to drop and swing'jaw 32 "closed for gripping the supply tape 28 against the (111111130. The

handle 29 is then sealed to the bag 21 and simultaneously severed from the supply tape 28, the latter being held securely in place against the retriever drum 30 (-Fig. 8). After the handle is attached,.the jaw 33 is opened (a position similar to Fig. 5 but with the drum displaced and the operational cycle is repeated. .1 a

I claim as my invention:

1. A mechanism for :attachinga tape handle'toabag comprising, in combination, a machinejframe a bag con-.

veyor movably mounted on'the frame-and driven by an intermittent gear transmission, a tape supply source, a

retriever drum journaled for intermittent rotation on the frame and having its axis of rotation parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor, said drum having a tape supporting outer cylindrical surface overlying said conveyor and a pair of axially extending diametrically opposed slots through said surface, a drive mechanism connected to the conveyor gear transmission for intermittently rotating said drum in timed relation with the movement of the conveyor, a tape fastener having a pair of heads disposed above the conveyor on opposite sides of said drum surface and positioned for fastening action through one of said slots, scissors having a pair of knife elements on opposite sides of said drum surface and positioned for cutting action through the other of said slots, linkage means for operating said tape fastener heads and said scissors in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor and the rotation of the drum, a retriever jaw swingably mounted on said drum adjacent the trailing edge of each of said slots for gripping the cut end of the tape, said tape being pulled by said jaws from said supply so that it lies around said surface of the drum and with its cut end overlying the bag edge, a cam on each jaw for tucking the upper edge of the bag between the cut tape end and the adjacent drum slot in position for engagement by the fastener heads, a cam mechanism for operating said jaws to clamp the supply tape to the drum before the handle length is severed therefrom and to release the severed handle and attached bag.

2. A mechanism for attaching a tape handle to a bag comprising, in combination, a machine frame, a bag conveyor movably mounted on the frame and driven by an intermittent gear transmission, a tape supply source, a retriever drum journaled for intermittent rotation on the frame and having its axis of rotation parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor, said drum having a tape supporting outer cylindrical surface overlying said conveyor and a pair of axially extending diametrically opposed slots through said surface, a drive mechanism connected to the conveyor gear transmission for intermittently rotating said drum in timed relation with the movement of the conveyor, a tape fastener having a pair of heads disposed above the conveyor on opposite sides of said drum surface and positioned for fastening action through one of said slots, scissors having a pair of knife elements on opposite sides of said drum surface and positioned for cutting action through the other of said slots, linkage means for operating said tape fastener heads and said scissors in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor and the rotation of the drum, a retriever jaw swingably mounted on said drum adjacent the trailing edge of each of said slots for gripping the cut end of the tape, said tape being pulled by said jaws from said supply so that it lies around said surface of the drum and with its cut end overlying the bag edge, a cam on each jaw for tucking the upper edge of the bag between the cut tape end and the adjacent drum slot in position for engagement by the fastener heads, a cam mechanism for operating said jaws to clamp the supply tape to the drum before the handle length is severed therefrom and to release the severed handle and attached bag, said cam mechanism including a rocking cam, cam followers on the jaws engageable therewith and means for rocking the cam in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor and the rotation of the retriever drum.

3. A mechanism for producing a length of tape for attachment to bags comprising, in combination, a retriever drum for supporting a length of tape to be severed from a supply tape, means for intermittently rotating said drum, a pair of jaws swingably mounted on said drum for gripping the tape thereto and having cam followers therein, a rocking cam engaging said cam followers, means for rocking said cam to open and close said jaws in timed relation to the position of rotation of the drum, and means for severing the tape between said jaws when the drum is stopped and when the jaws are closed, thereby holding both the severed portion and the supply tape against said retriever drum, said rocking means opening one jaw holding the severed portion thereby discharging said portion, and closing said one jaw after said retriever drum has rotated, thereby gripping the supply tape to the drum with a further length of tape in position for severing.

4. Mechanism for attaching a tape handle to a bag having, in combination, a frame, a drum journaled on said frame to turn about a fixed axis and having a plurality of slots formed in and angularly spaced around the peripheral surface of the drum, means for rotating said drum intermittently to dwell each of said slots successively at a first station and then at a second station, a bag conveyor mounted on said frame and operable to deliver bags one by one to a position alongside said second station, mechanism for holding a supply of tape and guiding the tape around said drum surface through said first station to said second station, a sealing element disposed at said second station and mounted to move into engagement with the bag and the tape to seal the two together, a knife disposed at said first station and operable to sever the tape, a plurality of grippers, one for each of said slots and each mounted on said drum behind the adjacent slot to hold the tape on the drum surface, and mechanism actuated in time relation with the rotation of said drum and operable during each dwell of the drum first to close a gripper behind said knife, then to actuate said sealing element and said knife and finally to open the gripper at said second station thereby to release a bag with a handle attached thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,368,429 Sidebotham Jan. 30, 1945 2,457,216 Eaton Dec. 28, 1948 2,707,360 Harker May 3, 1955 

